Ralph's Daily Devotional - Tuesday, April 3

Genesis 6:1-22 records Noah and the animals placed on the ark. This story is real. Jesus refers to the flood as a literal event as well. But how are we to interpret it?

I personally do not believe that it was a worldwide flood. The words "all the Earth" can easily refer to the area in which civilization was located at that time. It was not until Genesis 11 that men were scattered throughout all the Earth, and so "all" can mean all of the world in which sin was present - the near East of that time.

The issue is not "could." God could flood the entire Earth, but would He when there was no reason to do so? Reasons against a total worldwide flood are numerous. These reasons include:

-There is no geological evidence of a worldwide flood

-The eco-system would be totally destroyed, and Noah could not have possiblylived in such a world following the flood

-How would all the animals fit on this ark and who could possibly feed them all?

I could list many more problems with the theory of a worldwide flood. I realize that God could have supernaturally made this all work out so that a worldwide flood would be possible, but did He? I doubt it.